Meguiar’s M105/M205 are indeed non-diminishing abrasives, and they will not break down like traditional diminishing abrasives (106fa/PO85RD). While M205 is highly capable as a jeweling polish, I do find it requires a little bit more of a learning curve, and the technique may vary more from car to car. Because of this I often suggest people stick with the traditional diminishing abrasives for jeweling unless they are willing to put in the time to learn how M205 works.

Since the tiny abrasives in M205 don’t break down they will continue to cut as long as you want. The amount of cut can vary quite a bit depending on pad choice and the amount of pressure you apply, which makes M205 a much more versatile polish. I actually prefer to use M205 with the D/A polisher when used for a final jeweling step, but I’ve also used it with the rotary on many of my jobs too. I’ll use a black LC pad for harder paints and the crimson LC Hydro pad for softer paints.

Since this is a jeweling step, you really shouldn’t need more than 4 pea sized dots on the face of your pad per 20″ x 20″ section.

PO85RD and 106FA are refered to as a diminishing product(s), I assume they brake-down?. But M105/M205 don’t break down? Is this something important to know?. Also, how much of a finishing product do I put on my pad?…Thank in advance!

I actually created a poll on one of the detailing boards for fun back in 2009 just to see what term most people use to describe this method. Finishing was actually on top with 63% of the votes and reflectus maximus was second at 11%.